San Quentin

I see that the vast majority of my IMDB colleagues have stolen my thunder on this eminently so so prison/noir that is of interest mainly to collectors of mediocre Gordon Douglas films. It is the kind of movie where every scene, line of dialogue and performance other than that of Barton McLane slips out of your consciousness five minutes after watching or listening. And Marian Carr would proudly occupy the Most Boring Actress pedestal until being knocked off it by Nathalie Trundy ten years later. Give it a solid C.

PS...As for the film's message, let's just say that 1946's Mutual Welfare League has morphed into today's Aryan Brotherhood.

The movie "San Quentin" is riddled with some great era type slang, tough guy characters and peppered with a couple of hot dishes...especially Carol Forman. Burton Maclane is a classic tough guy who wields a rod whenever he has the chance. Lots of interesting pieces to this film including prison shots, car chases, flat foot investigations, shootouts and gangster goingson.

Don't be discouraged by the low rating average of this movie. If you like film noir type gangster movies from the era, you'll likely really enjoy this one. Hey, it's only a 1 hour, 6 minute investment. Check it out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Flawless except for one thing. In White Heat Cagney had Virginia Mayo and in Key Largo Robinson had Claire Trevor. To have any gravitas here as a washed up old-time gangster MacLane would have had a significant love interest on the outside. Although his career was made in law enforcement roles, MacLane was a very bad guy in G-Men, killing his wife played by Ann Dvorak. Here again his answer to most problems is to kill someone. In comparison Lawrence Tierney is the rational one. The two girlfriends allotted here belong to Raymond Burr and Lawrence Tierney and without whom there would have been no point at all, the amazing Carol Forman and Marian Carr in her debut.

This movie had too much footage devoted to p.r. for the prison system to be a worthwhile noir. Of only marginal interest for Lawrence Tierney fans. The first red-flag that this movie was not going to be what I had hoped for: there is an awkward prologue spoken by the real-life warden of Sing Sing, who seems to be reading enormous cue cards, judging from his eyes sweeping back and forth before the camera. Perhaps he was too vain to wear his eyeglasses.

Just by adding Laurence Tierney in the lead role as a rehabilitated convict, named Jim Roland, who is asked by the San Quentin Warden to become the prison's model spokesperson for the rehabilitation program that has gone into affect makes the film worthy of a watch.

A prison escape is planned by a wolf in sheep's clothing prisoner who eventually will bump heads with the recently reformed Jim Roland, (Laurence Tierney) who wants to ensure the Warden's newly introduced rehabilitation program continues even though the Prison Board believes it should be scrapped.

The film is a classic good guy versus bad guy black and white 1946 crime film well worth a watch.

I rate it a 6 out of 10 IMDb rating.